Do pickled vegetables increase the risk of esophageal and stomach cancer?

Despite significant declines in incidence and mortality in many developed countries, stomach cancer remains the fifth most common malignancy and the second leading cause of cancer death in the world.

Among the risk factors for the development of stomach cancer, infection with the bacterium Helicobacter pylori is important, but it accounts for only a fraction of cases of this disease and it is known that only a small proportion of people with this infection actually develop the disease, suggesting that there are other factors that play a role.

Epidemiological studies have shown that one of these factors could be the consumption of pickled foods. Namely, a higher risk of developing esophageal and stomach cancer has been observed in areas with high consumption of pickled foods. For example, in high-risk areas of China, pickled foods, and especially pickled vegetables, were eaten daily for 9 to 12 months of the year and represented an important part of the family diet. The traditional way of preparing pickled vegetables, by packing moist vegetables in a jar for several weeks or months, allows fermentation and the growth of fungi and yeasts and can potentially produce carcinogenic compounds such as N-nitroso compounds and mycotoxins. These observations were confirmed in several in vitro studies that showed the carcinogenicity of pickled vegetables.

However, it should be emphasized that the results of part of the epidemiological studies related to pickled vegetables were not consistent, i.e. they did not confirm earlier results. Ultimately, based on available data, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified traditional Asian pickled vegetables as possibly carcinogenic to humans.

You can view the original article published in Večernji list at the link.

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